Active Directory Cookbook

2.6. Finding the Domains in a Forest

Problem

You want a list of the domains in a forest.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

Open the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in. The list of the domains in the default forest can be browsed in the left pane.

Using a command-line interface

> ntdsutil "d m" "sel op tar" c "co t s <DomainControllerName>"  q "l d" q q q

Using VBScript

' This code gets the list of the domains contained in the 
' forest that the user running the script is logged into.

set objRootDSE = GetObject("LDAP://RootDSE")
strADsPath =  "<GC://" & objRootDSE.Get("rootDomainNamingContext") & ">;"
strFilter  = "(objectcategory=domainDNS);"
strAttrs   = "name;"
strScope   = "SubTree"

set objConn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
objConn.Provider = "ADsDSOObject"
objConn.Open "Active Directory Provider"
set objRS = objConn.Execute(strADsPath & strFilter & strAttrs & strScope)
objRS.MoveFirst
while Not objRS.EOF
    Wscript.Echo objRS.Fields(0).Value
    objRS.MoveNext
wend

Discussion

Using a graphical user interface

If you want to view the domains for an alternate forest than the one you are logged into, right-click on “Active Directory Domains and Trusts” in the left pane, and select “Connect to Domain Controller.” Enter the forest name you want to browse in the Domain field. In the left pane, expand the forest root domain to see any subdomains.

Using a command-line interface

In the ntdsutil example, shortcut parameters were used to reduce the amount of typing needed. If each parameter ...